S&P Sees High Risk of Ford, GM Ratings Downgrade on Auto Tariffs

Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co., along with nearly a dozen car-parts suppliers, are at high risk of a negative ratings action in the coming weeks if looming tariffs from the Trump administration take effect, according to an S&P Global Ratings report.

Tariffs could impact the earnings and cash flows of Ford and GM in ways that won’t be offset by mitigating factors, analysts including Nishit Madlani wrote in a Monday report. Both companies are rated investment-grade by the firm; BBB- in the case of Ford and BBB for GM.

The report assumes that cars imported from ...